The growth and establishment of a hydrogen economy requires an efficient and cost effective hydrogen compressor for high volumetric transport of hydrogen through pipelines. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap reported, “the primary challenge to using more hydrogen in our energy systems is the cost of producing, storing, and transporting hydrogen.” A practical hydrogen economy requires a huge infrastructure buildup, including production, storage and delivery, to replace the currently existing gasoline and natural gas infrastructure.
Significant research is ongoing in the area of very high-pressure hydrogen compression for refueling station applications in which pressures up to 12,000 psi are desired. These systems include multi-stage reciprocating piston and diaphragm compressors, liquid-piston compressors, electro-chemical compression (high-pressure electrolyzers), and metal and chemical hydride gas compression. However, for hydrogen pipeline applications, the flow rates and power requirements are many orders of magnitude greater, and as such, reciprocating gas compressor technology is currently the dominant approach. Current hydrogen pipeline compressors capable of high volumes are capital intensive with poor reliability and high maintenance cost. To meet the future needs of the hydrogen infrastructure, advanced high efficiency compressors that overcome these issues are required.